


Birthdays

by luxuriousvoyage11



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 12:56:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14694669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxuriousvoyage11/pseuds/luxuriousvoyage11
Summary: Tessa's 16th and 25th birthdays.





	Birthdays

2005:

Tessa can’t really remember a time where she enjoyed her birthday. Sure, the cake was a nice treat and seeing her family was great - but she always tried not to make a big deal out of it. She remembers her sweet 16 even, training in America and listening to her fellow skaters’ conversations about what high-profile halls their friends were renting out or what Mercedes class the parents were rumored to be buying. She snorted at the idea and relished in what really was her 16th birthday celebration - a backyard BBQ in London.

Her mom had invited a few family members, the Moirs included. There was chocolate cake and dancing and laughter and it was the perfect relaxed and candid birthday celebration she could’ve ever had. She and Scott had driven up late Monday night, getting the okay to take a 3-day break to see their families and celebrate. She was in a half-sleep, her head against the cold car window when the sound of a noisemaker had her jumping in the passenger seat of Scott’s car. She looked over and broke out into a fit of giggles, watching her partner with a sly smile, the red and green noisemaker in between his lips.

“Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to Tessa, happy birthday to you!” he sings loudly, his voice pitchy and loud and perfect nonetheless.

Her giggles subside a few moments later, her head shaking in disbelief that _this_  boy, man, is her best friend.

“Thank you,” she says with a smile, “your singing was lovely!”

“It was, wasn’t it?” he jokes, looking to her quickly before nodding his head towards the back-seat.

“Check the floor behind you.”

Confused, she looks back to see a tiny purple bag laying on its side, yellow polka-dot paper sticking out messily. “I did the best I could without my mom to wrap it all pretty,” he says.

“Oh, my god Scott, you didn’t have to get me anything!” she squeals, never expecting presents even on the day of her birth. He shoots her an all too familiar “are you kidding me” look before she lets out a sigh of defeat and grabs it. She puts her head down so her messy brown hair covers her smile, the crinkled, uneven paper so thoughtful and so Scott.

“I know you’re laughing at my wrapping job, T!” 

Her loud cackle rings through the car and she slaps a hand over her mouth, all too guilty. “I’m sorry!” she squeals, “I shouldn’t be laughing, this is so thoughtful and I really do appreciate it and-“

He cuts off her rambling with a laugh of his own, “Oh, relax, I was joking, let’s go kiddo! I’m sweatin’ over here.”

She eases around the paper delicately, not knowing what’s in here and if she should be gentle or not. She feels a velvet box and her eyes grow wide, praying he didn’t just buy her expensive jewelry.

“Relax…” he chides. She quietly huffs, both cursing and reveling in the fact he knows her so well.

She takes out the box and opens it slowly, revealing a golden chain with a tiny, matching heart in the middle. She presses her lips together, not knowing what’s about to come out of her mouth. She takes it off the stand, examining it further. It really was the perfect necklace for her; simple and pure yet so charming and elegant.

Her fingers touch the smooth surface of the golden heart, turning it over when she feels a crease on the back. She has to squint her eyes in the dark car and bring it a few inches away from her face until she sees an engraving on the back. Not being able to help it now, a noise mixed between happiness and sadness comes out of her mouth and it’s the juvenile version of the infamous laugh/cry Scott will hear in the years to come.

“Not many words can fit on it,” he says beside her, finally speaking, “so I just went on a whim, I hope that’s okay.”

Her teary, green eyes meet his and she lets out small giggle, “it’s perfect, Scott, thank you so much.”

The gratitude in her shaky voice has his heart constricting in ways he’s tried to put off for years now, their friendship and closeness only growing stronger.

He takes one hand off the steering wheel and reaches for hers, their interlocked hands resting in the middle of the console. They hold hands quite frequently, on the ice while skating together and the off the ice while waiting for their scores, but something about this felt different. His hand squeezed hers tightly, not ever yet being able to get the words “anything for you.”

At the end of the night, Scott and Tessa are sitting on the couch together while the parents clean up paper plates and plastic cups that litter the inside of the Virtue home. In their own bubble, they don’t notice Kate and Alma whispering about the new necklace Tessa hasn’t been able to stop touching.

 

2014:

It had been a good day thus far for the birthday girl; any day she gets to sleep in till 11 a.m. is a good day. She woke up to plans of brunch that she had slept through, her friends jokingly chastising her in a group chat they had made a few months ago. She sent the ‘monkey covering his eyes emoji’ only to be bombarded yet again with messages. 

“Oh, Sleeping Beauty is up!”

“Look who decided to bless us with some guilty emojis!”

“We are still getting some damn mimosas!”

She smiled down at her phone, jumping in the shower ten minutes later after new plans were scheduled for a late 12:30 brunch. She had chatted and laughed and gossiped with her friends, the casual brunch celebration just what she needed after her tough couple of months after Sochi.

Her phone was bombarded with phone calls and text messages, family and friends wishing her with hopes of happiness and love. She made it to her parents home by 6:00, still stuffed from brunch but refusing to change the plans to see her family. Her day had only gotten better, dinner with her family followed by watching old VHS tapes in their cozy living room.

“Oh, my god!” Jordan squealed, “look how tiny your skates were!”

The time stamp read January 15th, 1998.

Little Tessa skated around the rink with a shy smile playing at her lips, a flowy skirt paired with giant gloves causing everyone to laugh. The camera panned to the other side of the rink, a boisterous Scott barreling down the ice wearing a short-sleeved Hockey jersey. He circled Tessa playfully, their young awkwardness finally subsiding and the hint at something beautiful evident in their body language and bashful smiles.

Jordan watched as her sister’s smile fade at the sight of her and her partner at just 9 and 11. Her greens eyes focused on Scott before sliding over to the clock on the wall next to her that read 10:49. Her sister turned as she felt her stare and she promptly plastered on a smile before training her eyes back on the tv.

It was past midnight when Kate had gone up to bed, Tessa’s old room already set up for the two girls.

“Yay! A sleepover!” Jordan exclaimed as they padded into the room, “she really set us up middle school style.”

Blankets and pillows piled up on the double bed, the extra bedding not having been used in months. The two changed into pajamas and did their nightly routines, Tessa being the first to comb through whatever face wash and creams her mom has.

“Mom really is a minimalist when it comes to skincare products,” Tessa says as she walks back into her room. Jordan pops her head of the closet, an apprehensive look on her face.

“What?” Tessa says, confused by the look on her sisters face.

She sees the hesitation in her eyes and is about to repeat herself when Jordan daringly says, “so, did Scott call you today?”

Tessa’s whole body goes stiff for a moment before she regains her composure.

“He didn’t actually, but you know, we really don’t do birthdays together anyway so it’s not that unusual.”

Jordan’s eyebrow raises and Tessa breaks eye contact, turning around to sit crisscrossed on the bed. “Don’t do that, I saw your face before when we were watching the tapes.”

She just shrugs in response, not wanting to talk anymore on the issue. Jordan understands and nods, giving her one last reassuring look before walking off to the bathroom.

Tessa lets out a sigh, falling back onto the bed and flipping her long brown hair over her shoulder. Her eyes catch the closet door her sister hadn’t closed and she gets up, padding over to the double doors. Just as her hand wraps around the knob, her eyes catch something on one of the shelves and her heart freezes.

‘No,’ she thinks. She stares at the jewelry for what seems like hours before she reaches out cautiously and grasps the golden chain in her hand.

Her fingers run over the heart like they did all those years ago in Scott’s car and she doesn’t even realize she’s crying until Jordan comes into the room, shocked.

“What…”

Her eyes move down to the chain in her sister’s hand and she takes in a sharp breath.

“Oh, god,” she mumbles. She’s almost positive that necklace is permanently engraved into her memory, remembering her sister never taking that damn thing off in her late teens.

“I was so happy when he gave this to me,” Tessa reminisces, her voice wobbly, “even though he just had woken me up with that stupid noisemaker and-“

She turns the necklace over and her words halt, sobs wrecking through her and the chain slipping through her hands. Jordan takes her sister by the shoulders gently, bringing her over to the bed and sitting them both down.

“Tess, please,” Jordan pleads, hating to see her sister so upset.

Tessa lays down on her side and turns her head to cry into the pillow, overcome by the emotions from seeing that gift. She feels her sister softly run her fingers through her hair and she’s not sure how long it is until the tears stop.

“Together.” Tessa says, pulling Jordan out of the silence that has plagued the bedroom.

“What?” she says softly, not sure what she means.

“Together. That’s what the back of the necklace says. It’s one of our cues," she informs her sister who nods, slightly familiar with the concept. “But we also said it off the ice, because we truly were in every aspect. And now, now we’re just…not,” she says weakly. “I don’t know what happened, Jordan, he’s never ever forgotten my birthday and I know I'm being silly and dramatic about it but-“

“You’re not, Tess, you’re totally not,” she reassures because fuck, does this whole situation suck, “it’s just a tough time right now, I know, and you guys are just…dealing with it differently. You guys have always been different.”

Tessa nods, the truth of her sister’s words something everyone has known about them from the start. “It’s harder than I thought it would be,” she whispers.

“I know, T, I’m sorry.”

The two sisters hug each other simultaneously, Tessa’s eyes occasionally scanning over the gold chain scattered across the floor. The room is a calm quiet now and the two eventually succumb to sleep.

Until 4:00 a.m. exactly, when Tessa’s phone is vibrating on the bedside table. She shoots up and quickly grabs it, her sleepy daze failing to notice the caller ID.

“Hello?” she says, voice scratchy and deep from her slumber.

“Tess.”

Her heart drops and her eyes grow wide and it’s like someone’s poured a bucket of water over her.

“Hi, Scott.”

“T, I’m so-so-sorry,” he slurs, “I’m the absolute wors-st, I missed your birthday and-“

“It’s okay, Scott,” she reassures him softly.

“It’s-it’s not Tess,” he hiccups, “we’ve never missed each others birthdays.”

Tessa inhales sharply and she walks into the hallway in an effort to not awaken her sister. “I’m sure you were just busy,” she says.

The other end is silent until a sarcastic snort fills her ear, “yeah, busy, I’m real fuckin’ busy,” he mumbles.

It’s silent for a few moments and she’s almost positive he’s hung up.

“I suck lately, Tess, and I’m so fucking sorry.”

She feels the wetness coming back behind her eyes and she has to bite her lip for a whimper to not come through. “You don’t, Scott, don’t say that….and stop apologizing, it’s okay.”

She hears him sniffle and she can tell he’s trying not to cry which makes her urge to cry stronger.

“I love you, Tess.”

Her throat restricts and she’s not sure how much longer she can keep this conversation going.

“I love you too, Scott.”

“Even though I woke you up at 4 a.m.?”

A watery smile crosses her face and a quiet giggle leaves her mouth. “Don’t remind me,” she grumbles, with a smile, causing him to cackle on the other end. She hears a female voice utter his name and her face drops, suddenly all too aware of the situation.

“One sec,” she hears him mumble, “I gotta go, T, I just…I had to call you,” he says.

She only nods, forgetting he can’t see her before he begins again.

“Happy Birthday, Tessa.”

“Thank you, Scott. Goodnight,” she says quietly.

Only breathing can be heard through the phone for the last few moments and they don’t even have to be together to know that, somehow, it’s synced. 


End file.
